Abstract
This study focused on the explaining the entrepreneurship in context of women, ethnic, and minority entrepreneurship by looking at the concept of women entrepreneurship and ethnic entrepreneurship. The study find out that some of ethnicity are considered more entrepreneurial than others due to the predisposing factors, existence of strong network channel that were built for generations. Also the study found out that women entrepreneurs are facing more challenges in the business courses that hinder them from developing and sustaining within the industry, challenges such as market competition and penetration, cultural and taboos beliefs, capital accessibility biasness, and information biasness. The study recommended that government need to support small entrepreneurs from women and ethnic group by creating supportive economic policies and regulation that are inclusive and provide equal playground for both entrepreneurs.
INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurship
becoming the most utilized tools for promoting and catalyzing the economic
development of the most countries, its contribution to the economy are vital
from creation of employment opportunities through innovation and products
creation that provide job opportunities results to the controlling of poverty
level of the country, for example East African economy are dominated by small
entrepreneurs that contribute about 40% of the overall GDP of the country
compared to other sector
The
entrepreneurship means process of managing available resources to create new
products or services from those resources and benefits the society,
entrepreneur is an individual who is oriented business minded that taking risk
to create, innovate, and develop new products and services from the resources
exposed to them and those individual are risk takers that focus on exploring financial
values possessed by resources available in the society
Entrepreneurship concept has been existed for
thousands years before that practiced by different generation, in early years many
tribes was exchanging goods that explored from their environment such as crops,
hunting products, and different hand tools. Also from industrialization eras to
the mass production.
In developing country the raising of entrepreneurship has
passed through difference phases after their gained independence from
colonialism, after independent most of African countries was restructured their
economic through adopting various development policies and strategies that will
support economic development of the country (Jamali, 2009). Most of the development strategies was copied from developed countries
and when implemented within the countries are failed to deliver required
outcome, this results to those countries change the strategies and start
adopting to the exploring their available resources and utilize economic values
from those products through allowing private business individual either local
business or foreigner enterprises to invest in the country which influenced and
motivate the increase in number of entrepreneurs from large scales to small
entrepreneurs.
The small entrepreneurs dominated the business
operation of developing countries for example Tanzania and become the most
valuable sector in supporting growth of country economy, this attracted
government and policy maker and developing bodies to acknowledge the
contribution of those entrepreneurs by developing
policies that support and motivate the business operation from those
entrepreneurs. The support provided make more entrepreneurship from different groups
like women entrepreneurs, objected business goals entrepreneurs, ethnic entrepreneurs,
and other minority entrepreneurs.
With all contribution of entrepreneurship to the
economic development of the country, there are many challenges that discourage growing
of entrepreneurs and other minority entrepreneurs to utilize their skills in
business, also there is factors that make some ethnic entrepreneurs to success
in term of entrepreneurial courses than others.
THEORETICAL REVIEW: LITERATURE REVIEW OF ALL KEY CONCEPTS
The concept of entrepreneurship has large coverage
that will be discussed in this sections by looking at the meaning of key terms such
as entrepreneurship, women and ethnic entrepreneurship with associated issues
like challenges facing small entrepreneurship group like women and minority
based business and theory related with the topic in the context.
Entrepreneur
Since the world
evolving in term of economic activities and business courses changing to new
structure and new business, entrepreneurial function has been expanding from
large entity to small enterprise by witnessing entrepreneur developing advanced
operation process and using new technology and strategies in conducting
business. The entrepreneur become valuable assets in restructuring and building
countries economy by creating different employments opportunities to society
through innovation and creating of products and services that offer working
chances through chain of activities.
In 16th
to 17th century the term entrepreneurship was tem used to describe
an individual that engaged in contractual work from government, the concept was
improved and referred to an individual that established organization by his or
her own income without contribution of others and such organization are
conducting business that are profits oriented. The term entrepreneur has been
defined with many authors that focused on different perspective depending
assumption considered, some of common author who defined entrepreneur are,
In early 20th
Another author
Also
Types of entrepreneurs
As presented
above, entrepreneur is individual with interest of establishing economic
activities or have ability of taking risk and initiating an organization that
engage in production or innovation of products, there several types of
entrepreneurs differentiate by motivation and scales of business established
which provide two version of entrepreneurs
Traditional and
modern entrepreneur, this versions of entrepreneurs that differentiated with
education level, exposure and training program received. Those with less
education and training are regarded as traditional entrepreneurs who engaged
into entrepreneurship as the only option available for them to have working
opportunity
Carrier track
differences entrepreneurship, this considered as modern entrepreneurs who have
high education and training with additional employment experience in mainstream
business course and change their carrier to entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship
concept have various meaning that developed by different authors who focus on
their assumption but all of them focusing on ability of individual to analyse
the risk when creating and developing financial oriented business. Some of the
popular definition that explaining the meaning of entrepreneurship are
following,
Definition by
Another author
“Entrepreneurship
is the decision of developing business organization aiming to explore and
create new opportunities that can increase financial values to the organization
while considering the profits” this definition was provided by
Entrepreneurship
is about risking financial asset and carrier of the individual, when people
make decision that involve placing his carrier and financial security in risk
by relocating to the new business course either through producing, developing,
or innovation process its considered as entrepreneurship according to concept
presented by
Minority entrepreneurship
Economic
activities managed and controlled by entrepreneurs with less privileges than
those in mainstream business
Ethnicity entrepreneurship
Theoretical review of entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship
are considered to find the balance between three factors of production that is organized
by individual or an organization which are existing natural resources, labor
forces, and investment capital. When those three factors existed and
entrepreneur explore the opportunities available that create scarcity, then the
product will be created to fill the void of product or services. Many
researchers and authors developed theoretical framework that provide assumption
on how entrepreneur reach to the decision of combining all three production
factors to create new products or services, since there is no single accepted
assumption that accepted by majority of scholars in term of theories that
regulate entrepreneurship. This study will base into four theories which are
cultural theory, economic theory, psychological theory, and social theory.
Cultural theory
The theory based
on the assumption that entrepreneurship are outcome of cultural adaptation and
application of knowledge obtained from exposed cultural system and values t
product services and products that embrace the environmental cultural
background
Hoselitz Imitating theory
Theory developed
on the ground of factors that govern and control entrepreneurship of minority
group by explaining the influence of culture to the entrepreneur’s talent in
practicing economic activities
Stoke’s social culture theory
Theory considered
the emerging of entrepreneurship through influence of social sanction and
cultural activities in economic aspect sharpen individual psychologies in
identifying presence of opportunity that can be exploited or utilized based on
the social and culture presence.
Economic theories
The theory explain
the motive that lead to raise of entrepreneurship are favorable economic structure
and growth that influence entrepreneurs to innovate and create products and
services, the theory assumed the incentive provided by growth of economy in the
country are the pushing factors for entrepreneurship to flourish for example
factor like increase of demand and consumption, availability of input
resources, accessibility to financial services, stable economic activities
flows, country stability in term of political decision making and policy
development , and other that related to economic factors
Psychological theory
The theory
developed by many authors, one of them is John H. Kunkel who described the
concept of entrepreneurship as the integration of individual exposure from
present and past environment, culture, and physical environment with attitude
into combining the present resources to new products or services, the theory
based on the assumption that the psychological factors is the one that
influence the ability of entrepreneurs to restructure their past experience and
align them with present experience
Social theory
This theory
explain the role of society in constructing entrepreneurs in their decision
making to combine social values, beliefs, and custom taboos in directing entrepreneurs
behavior exploiting natural resources and combining with capital to produce new
products that intimidating their society
Empirical evidence in context of the study
Several study
conducted to explain the entrepreneurship concept to analyse women, ethnic, and
minority entrepreneurship. This study will connect few finding from those past
study to explore the entrepreneurship concept in context with women and
minority
After data
analysis the study found that most of ethnic entrepreneurs especial from Asian
ethnic are more successful than other ethnic group in Sub-Sahara due to several
factors which are large network created by the Asian peoples that allow easy
access to the market, also stable financial facility from structure constructed
by preexisting culture, another factor are culture background that consider
them more superior than others.
Another author
After collecting required
information and interpretation done through interpretative methods, the study
presented their founding that financial barriers, social and cultural
challenges, market information biasness are major factor facing ethnic and women
entrepreneurs in conducting financial activities within UK.
In late 2016
STUDY METHODOLOGY
The study will use
different research strategies to ensure the outcome are related with the
presented situation in the industry, the following will be structure that this
study follow in the collecting data and analysing those information.
Research approach methods
This are
systematic strategies and utilized tools implemented by the study in process of
collecting data and interpretation for those information to found the objective
of the study
Study population targeted
Population of the
study present the elements of the study that provide necessary information
relating to the study, can either be group of people or single individual
Sampling process adopted by the study
This are the strategies
that implemented by the research in selecting the sample size of the study from
the population
Data collection techniques
This means the methods
that adopted by the research in obtaining the information that is subjected to
the identified research problem such as interview, questionnaire, or
observation of the targeted population
Analyses of the information
The data will be
analysed using different process mixed, for example using statistical analysing
program like SPSS, using comparison with empirical evidence, this study since
it using exploratory research will use comparison process with empirical
information from previous study after running the information in SPSS and interpretation
of coefficient.
FINDING AND DISCUSSION OF THE STUDY
After the
collection of data from the sample selected for the study and analysed through data
processing techniques chosen, this section will present the finding of the
study and discuss the results by supportive from empirical study.
Demographic of the participants of the study
Demographic of the
study present characteristic that differentiate the participants for example
age, gender, education level, races and culture, and others. For the purpose of
this study, it will focus single demographic features that is gender since
other characteristic has less influence to the study.
Table
1: Demographic of the population based on Gender.
|
Gender
|
Frequencies
|
Percentages
% |
|
Male |
50 |
33 |
|
Female
|
100 |
67 |
|
Total
|
150 |
100 |
The population of
the study will be presented by 100 females that form 67% of participants that
will be presenting women entrepreneurs and 33% will be male presenting ethnic
entrepreneurs.
The study
conducted focusing on the explaining the entrepreneurship in context
of women, ethnic, and minority entrepreneurship by looking at the concept of
women entrepreneurship and ethnic entrepreneurship, which give three objective,
- Influencing factors for women, ethnic, and
minority entrepreneurs to engage in business
- To identifies why some ethnic are more
entrepreneurial than other,
- And to determine challenges facing women
entrepreneurs that cause their business fail to grow and remain dull
Influencing factors to engage in business
The study interview all 150 participants to find out
that influence them to become entrepreneurs, and collecting their answers that
give the following results,
Table
2: Influencing factors
|
Percentages % |
Influencing factors |
|
80% |
Challenging
the system |
|
60% |
Life styles |
|
85% |
Reducing depending |
|
90% |
Creating income flow |
Reducing dependence
85% of the participants from sample mentioned to
reduce depending to others as the pushing factors that lead them to the
entrepreneurship. 86 % of women was forced by this factors while 60% of male
was also forced to engage in entrepreneurship to reduce depending from others.
Most of entrepreneurs from small business are
influenced by this factors which motivate them to start their own business in
order to have independent financial authority without to be waiting support
from others.
Creating income cash flow
78 out of 100 women entrepreneurs are listed stable
income flow as main influence factors for them to become entrepreneurs in the
first places. 65 of ethnic entrepreneurs said income cash flow was pushing
factor for them to engage in business since their facing more challenge
accessing services without cash compared with local individuals who has wide
means of accessing services without income or cash. This factor supported by
study that
Participant’s life styles factor
90% of women said life styles are main
influence for them to create business organization that will give them the
required freedom, one of participants said,
“The presence policies in most work places do not
provide working flexibility that allow co-existence of job life and personal
life, in case you have family issues that will keep you out in working hours in
weekday the bosses and managers will not be happy. But the owning business
provide that flexibility”
Women are wanting
flexible working condition that does not limit them from performing other
family duties without being judged by society, lack of flexibility within
working environment are one factor that
influence majority of women entrepreneurs to create their own business that
will enable them to have freedom in balancing working life and personal life’s.
Factors that make some ethnic entrepreneurs more entrepreneurial than other
The second
objective are to identify why some ethnical entrepreneurs are more successful
than others. As discussed in key term, ethnic entrepreneurs are those individual
that have common background in term of races, cultural values, and nationality.
Some of the factors as discussed below give advantages some of ethnic entrepreneurs
than other,
Predisposal environment factors
When held an
interview with some of the ethnic entrepreneurs of Indian origins, 80% are
second generation group compare to Chinese entrepreneurs who mostly are their
first visit in East Africa countries, one of the respondents said,
“You
cannot compete with Indian in business course as most of them have many years
in East Africa and have nationality from
those countries that give advantages to have more success compare to other ethnic group”
Many Asian origins
that successful in East African countries have strong roots background that
created by their ancestors that make easy for new generation to have successes
as there is predisposing factors behind like resources, solidarity, and network
that support their business. This factor supported by empirical study of
Labor forces and capital accessibility
85% of
participants explained using their own labor forces in initial stage of
business since they large number of population in disposal, one of Asian
entrepreneur of India origin commented the following,
“If you look at country pupation census you might
found out that we make almost 5% of the population that can be utilized as
labor forces in our business, also presence of many financial institution give
us opportunity of accessing capital from those financial institutions"
As witnessed in
the study conducted by
Cultural factors
The study found
out that some ethnic entrepreneurs are successful in business due to the
influence of cultural and social background, most of Asian are regarded as
business oriented personnel who focusing in creating business and financial
activities by taking risk associated with business operation than other ethnic
group that good in inventing and technology. Data collected show that within 50
entrepreneurs, 76% are Indian and rest is other ethnic entrepreneurs
“Some of the people gain business skills when
attending schools and colleges, but most of Indian within East Africa who
engage in entrepreneurship are possessing less education levels but more
succeeded compare to local peoples who have high education, this are influenced
by cultural background of most Indian are risk takers and opportunist when it
comes to business”
Challenges that hinder growth of women business and make their business dull and small
Some of those
factors are presented below,
Cultural practices factor
The study found
out that 50% of women participants listed taboos from some tribes and culture
as barriers for women, 35 indicated family issues as challenges for women to
manage business, and 15% explained about religious and social practices as the
limiting factors to the women entrepreneurs to grow their business.
The existing of
complexity in relation of culture and social practices toward the women
entrepreneurs influence for most of business to remain dull, for example
society do not have faith in products
and services offered by women owned business, also some of the culture believe it
will be cursed if they let woman run business. In other hand some religion faith
believe women should not involve in business and interact with different
peoples of different ganger, one woman said,
“Most of women based business are small due to the a
lot of challenges we face in the community from social to religious belief, some
customers will not use your products or services become of gender and they
believes lack some quality”
This supported by
study of
Financial and capital constrains
120 out of 150
entrepreneurs say one of challenges that women facing are financial
accessibility challenges, since most of women business are of small enterprises
and most of such business are not sustain business operation make financial
institution to set high qualification requirement for obtaining capitals from
loan, one participant commented the following,
“Most of women don’t have their own asset that can be
used as loan security when need financial support to expand business, at the
end of day when you fail to obtain loan the business will remain dull and
small”
The financial
institution limit women based business to have access to capital for provided
terms that are not affordable by many small business managed by women for
example the requirement of fixed asset that most of women do not own fixed
asset that can be used as collateral security for obtaining loan.
Market accessibility constraints
From sample
population of 150, 135 considered market access as barriers for the women in
the business, one person said,
"For the business to have values it need to have
market that will support the production of such products, most of women product
suffer consequence of lacking market penetration due to barrier placed by the
policies and social attitude toward women business oriented”
Difficulties of
adopting to the market prevent women from growing their business because of
lack of stable market for those products, since market are pushing factors for
the existence of business operation.
And another factors are information biasness
The study found out 80% of participants from women
entrepreneurs are lacking right information relating to economic activities
their performing, one of respondent said,
Entrepreneurship
as defined by man authors it is process of integrating three factors raw
resources, working forces, and capital. Information is vital factor that
simplifies integration of those three production factors, as entrepreneur you
will need information about availability of raw material resources, information
about investing capitals, and information about availability of labor forces.
If any information that necessary for business are missing or not validly, the
business will be affected as it processed wrong information into production.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Conclusion
The study
concluded that, although women, ethnic, and minority entrepreneurs are
important for the economic development of the country but they have challenges
that need solution for them to grow and develop that will increase volume of
business and lead to economy to develop. Also the study conclude that some of
ethnicity are considered more entrepreneurial than others due to the
predisposing factors, existence of strong network channel that were built for
generations.
Recommendation
The study
recommended that, government need to support small entrepreneurs from women and
ethnic group by creating supportive economic policies and regulation that are
inclusive for both.
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